A Letter to my Not-Father
by spencerlonewolf
Summary: After the events of First Contact, Bruce Wayne receives a letter from his daughter from an alternate universe, Helena. What does she have to say?


This is just a little that's been stuck in my head for a while. Which features a Huntress I'm quite fond, Helena Wayne, who like Miss Bertinelli (everyone else's favorite Huntress) does not get a lot of recognition here. So I decided to remedy the former's situation. This does contain slight spoilers for the New 52's recent story arc First Contact (Batman/Superman 8-9 & Worlds' Finest 19-21) which officially concluded this week. So I hope you all enjoy this little one-shot.

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A Letter to my Not-Father

After a busy night battling whatever mob was committing crimes in Gotham City, the Dark Knight returns to his base of operations underneath his home estate of Wayne Manor: the Batcave. Deciding to let himself rest, Bruce Wayne takes it upon himself to take a shower and sleep in his master bedroom. In the morning while eating his breakfast prepared by his full-time butler, father-figure and confidant, Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce takes a moment to himself.

It had been a week since his encounter/adventure with Superman and the other two heroines, Huntress and Power Girl. What was a key aspect from that time was that not only were the two heroines from another Earth, it was that on that Earth, Huntress was the daughter of Batman and Catwoman.

In their first meeting in the Batcave, Helena explained her origins. Although his head had tried and succeeded to be objective to the claim, he knew from his heart that she spoke the truth. She had truly impressed with him with how she escaped his trap, utilizing the bat-computer, and following his lead when it was necessary. But he could tell that she had made comparisons between himself and his double, her father. She didn't say often, but she was surprised of how his relationship was with Superman compared to her world. Where her's was built on mutual trust, his was more "difficult". He and Clark trusted each other of course, but it was on a strict professional standpoint than friendship as she stated.

Her best friend Karen had had constant power fluctuations and she sought his help. Even though there were slight hick-ups with his distrusting nature and Superman's arrival, they had been able to find out what and who was the cause of this problem. Locating the power fluctuation coming Rhelasia-turned-New Gamorra, Bruce and Helena found out the problem came from its mysterious and secretive reformer, Kaizen Gamorra. Realizing that the Karen's power instability could cause trouble to Superman, he continuously warned him away from her, but the Kryptonian would not abandon someone who needed his help. So he decided to share that pain for the time being.

With Superman out of commission, Batman would try to stabilize his partner with the kryptonite ring and balance the opposing energies. The four then split into 2 factions of the World's Finest teams: Batman & Power Girl and Huntress & Superman. On his side, he would find Kaizen's experiments that grafted Kryptonian abilities on humans and made his way to aid Power Girl. In the meantime, Superman was waiting on the Toyman's one-day shipment for armor that could neutralize the nanites in his system. It worked for a moment but once all four heroes were present in the room, the remaining nanites were sent back to the portal.

Seeing the crazed Kaizen tempt the two heroes, the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight kept feeling a sense of déjà vu coming from whatever world the portal travels to. When they believed Kaizen to be gone, the women began to leave but were met with an unexpected arrival of their worlds Superman. Shocked of his appearance and mannerisms, it was believed he had been taken over by Darkseid. Thankfully, Helena destroyed the portal and the four defeated the Parademon squad sent by the tyrant. The four would go their separate without first saying their goodbyes; from her, she gave him a hug.

For the last few days he had waited for any type of communication from his, as she called him, not-daughter but nothing so far. He returned to the computer in the cave and brought out her dossier when his butler came to him carrying a letter.

_"__Good morning, sir!"_

_"__Good morning Alfred. Who's the letter for?"_

_"__To you sir. There is no name of origin, but this letter was address to you from Starr Industries."_

To say Bruce was slightly stunned would be an understatement. He knew of Power Girl's secret identity being Karen Starr. He was unsure of why she would write to him when she could communicate with Clark, but once he saw the words "To my Not-Father" he knew it came from Helena. Bruce unfolded the paper and with Alfred present, spoke out the contents of the letter:

_"__Batman, it feels weird but great to finally have some contact with you, outside of breaking in through the Bat-Cave. And I realized while we were working together, we never got to really talk to each other. So to make up for lost conversation, here are a few things I felt you should know about me. When I first came to this Earth, I "inherited" a few million dollars from your bank account; sorry about that. Also, back on my world, when my parents were still around, I was Robin; I'm a little disappointed in you for choosing only boys for the mantle. When you announced Batman Incorporated, a few weeks later, I met Damian. He was definitely a little rough around the edges but I can tell he was good kid. I'm sorry for whatever happened to him. I wish I could have helped, but I hope you understand how nerve-wracking it was seeing another version of my dad, especially one so young in my opinion, but again I'm sorry. I know what its' like to lose family. _

_I sure you know by now that after we split up, Karen & I are starting to rebuild Kaizen's portal back to our world. I never thought it would be possible. My parents taught me everything about adapting to new situations and I've done well for myself these past 5+ years, but it's actually still there. I don't know what's going on there or what happened to Kal, but I'm ready to help out however I can. _

_I do have some regrets about leaving:_

· _Not seeing Alfred again. It's been so long and I've almost forgot what he looks like or how his cooking is. Make sure you give him a big hug for me._

· _Not meeting Dick, Jason, Tim or Barbara. I would have liked to have known them. I was an only child all my life, so I guess it would have been nice to have a few brothers. Probably would have felt less like a boys frat room if I had been around with Barbara._

· _Not being able to see the other members of the Justice League, Lois and… Selina._

_But with all those regrets, there's one I'm glad I was able to fulfill: meeting you. I've felt alone for so long after I lost my dad, that it was good to see his face one more time. You're a great Batman and one day I know you'll be even greater than he was. So with this I say, goodbye and maybe see you soon._

_With love and respect,_

_Your daughter Helena Wayne_

_P.S.: On hopeful selfishness, I have some advice I hope you'll consider. My dad was able to make time for a life of crime-fighting and having a family. I ask you, give Selina a chance. She really is a wonderful woman and I can guarantee, you would always be happier sharing all of your life with her. Believe me; I had 16 great years having my parents around that I'll never forget and hopefully I'll be able to share my life with the two of you again." _

As he finished reading the farewell letter, a lone tear came out of his right eye. For once, he allowed himself to feel anything besides anger or heartbreak; it was a mix of sadness but mostly happiness. Alfred had a smile on his face as he looked up the young woman's dossier and photo.

_"__I must say Master Bruce. She is a beautiful, young lady."_

_"__Yeah, she is."_

Alfred began to leave the cave as Bruce opened up one last file on the computer: his world's version of Helena's mother, Selina Kyle. Glancing down at the letter then up at the picture of his on-again off-again romantic partner, Bruce Wayne only had one thing to say:

_"__Maybe someday."_


End file.
